Christopher Wilson

Christopher Wilson is the Senior Associate at the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, where he leads the Institute’s research and programming on regional economic integration and U.S.-Mexico border affairs. He is the author of Working Together: Economic Ties between the United States and Mexico (Wilson Center, 2011) and coauthor of the State of the Border Report (Wilson Center, 2013). Chris has testified before the United States Congress and is regularly consulted by national and international media outlets regarding U.S.-Mexico relations. He has written opinion columns for the Wall Street Journal, Politico, CNN, and Reuters, among others. Chris previously worked as a contractor doing Mexico analysis for the U.S. military and as a researcher at American University’s Center for North American Studies. In Mexico, he worked briefly with the international trade consultancy IQOM, Inteligencia Comercial, and with American students studying regional political and social issues. He completed his M.A. in International Affairs at American University, focusing on U.S. foreign policy and hemispheric relations.

“This type of crime, especially the sensational type, always has a negative effect on tourism,” said Christopher Wilson, a Mexico expert at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. more

“Look at the example of drugs and weapons smuggling,” Wilson says. “There are drug demand issues on the U.S. side, but there are weapons demand issues on the Mexican side, where there are also rule-of-law issues and violence. The task force sought ways to share responsibility and work together to confront these interconnected problems.” more

The cuts probably won’t dramatically increase crime or significantly compromise border security, said Chris Wilson, an associate with the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, a Washington-based research group. The number of Border Patrol agents has doubled in the last decade, and illegal activity along the border between the ports of entry has fallen. more

Known as La Maestra or 'The Teacher', Gordillo headed the National Union of Education Workers or SNTE, which is estimated to have 1.5 million members. Christopher Wilson spoke to AlJazeera about her recent arrest. more

“The businesses that are affected by security issues are generally the small businesses, the mom-and-pop operations,” says Christopher Wilson, an economist at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ Mexico Institute. “If someone is going to try to extort a business, they’re not going after a company like Audi that has layers of protection.” more

If these assumptions hold true, Wilson says, “144,000 new U.S. jobs could be created due to Mexico's economic growth in 2011.” A modest figure, considering America's jobs shortage right now, Wilson concedes. “But that's with everything else being equal,” he explains. “If we don't do anything else to stimulate trade, we can at least count on the growth rate to create jobs.” more

In 2009, the Pacific Council on International Policy and the Mexican Council on Foreign Affairs convened the Binational Task Force on the United States-Mexico Border. The group issued a series of recommendations regarding border management, which were detailed in the report, “Managing the United States-Mexico Border: Cooperative Solutions to Common Challenges.” Now, as border management plays a key role in the debate over immigration reform, the Task Force will reconvene to evaluate progress in managing the U.S.-Mexico border. more

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If these assumptions hold true, Wilson says, “144,000 new U.S. jobs could be created due to Mexico's economic growth in 2011.” A modest figure, considering America's jobs shortage right now, Wilson concedes. “But that's with everything else being equal,” he explains. “If we don't do anything else to stimulate trade, we can at least count on the growth rate to create jobs.”

Christopher Wilson, from the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexican Institute, explains that the law, “is something that has been promoted by victim groups,” but “as written, the law could apply to a broad pool of people, and perhaps to those that have not been severely affected.”

"While places like Ciudad Juarez have become safer, other places in the country have seen violence spike up," said Christopher Wilson, an associate at the Washington-based Mexico Institute. "Acapulco is one of the areas, and in fact, the entire state of Guerrero is one of the places, where there's been more violence recently."

“Mexico is trying to be careful in terms of how it gets involved in the immigration debate,” said Christopher Wilson of the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. “It will talk about border security, trans-migration, issues like that, but Mexico will weigh its involvement in immigration very carefully.”

Christopher Wilson spoke to The Dallas Morning News about Mexico's potential to become a more medical tourism destination for Americans. He said, “Mexico needs to get more hospitals certified by the Joint Commission, address violence and the perception of it, and needs to significantly increase advertising in the United States.”

“Mexico’s previous administration prodded the U.S. to take stronger action on gun control for years, and Mexico’s new ambassador has continued that pressure,” Christopher Wilson.
• This article also appeared on Chrisroubis.com.

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The Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute hosted the launch of the report "The U.S.-Mexico Border Economy in Transition." This report is drawn from a series of four U.S.-Mexico Regional Economic Competitiveness Forums in order to engage border region stakeholders in a process to collectively generate a shared vision and policy recommendations to strengthen economic competitiveness.

The Wilson Center's Mexico Institute hosted its Second Annual Mexican Security Review, The State of Citizen Security in Mexico: 2014 in Review and the Year Ahead. The forum provided a careful examination of security challenges in Mexico, featuring presentations from leading policy analysts. Of particular interest were the available indicators of crime trends, analysis of the specific policy measures of the Peña Nieto administration, and the efforts of civil society to confront recent security problems in Mexico.

The Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute hosted Enrique Jacob Rocha, the first director of Mexico's new National Entrepreneurship Institute (INADEM), to discuss the state of innovation and entrepreneurship in Mexico as well as the activities being undertaken by the government to foment them. His presentation was followed by commentary from Alberto Saracho, Executive Director of Fundación Idea.

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto will host President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper for the North American Leaders Summit on February 19. On the eve of the summit, the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute and Canada Institute will host a discussion of the key issues facing the region.

Francisco Guerrero, Electoral Councilor of the Federal Electoral Institute of Mexico (IFE), will present his book, The Vote of Mexicans Abroad: History, Reflections, and a Look toward the Future. Dr. Guerrero will also speak about current proposals for a political reform in Mexico and the evolving electoral system.

On July 23, 2013, speakers will present the main findings of the Global Development Horizons report, which explores patterns of investment, saving and capital flows as they are likely to evolve over the course of the next two decades. Experts from the Wilson Center will discuss how these economic patterns will affect various developing countries and regions.

As the United States and the European Union begin the negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, please join us for a conference to examine the challenges and opportunities of including Canada and Mexico in the agreement.

As the debate over immigration reform has brought the management of the U.S.-Mexico border back into the spotlight, the Mexico Institute is pleased to invite you to the launch of its new State of the Border Report.

How has the global economy changed, and what does it mean for innovation? How should we be thinking about innovation? What conditions are necessary for innovation to thrive? How can we attract greater investment for innovation activities? What types of government policies and regulations can strengthen innovation? How can we better integrate science and technology into practical applications? What are the barriers to innovation, and how can we overcome them? This publication summarizes the main themes of the High-Level Innovation Forum for Policymakers 2013 and highlights some lessons learned. The purpose of this paper is to aid in ongoing dialogue, the next stage of which will take place in Washington, DC in November, 2014 (The publication is available both in English and Spanish).

The 2015 budget debate is the first since Mexico's 2013 fiscal reform was implemented, offering an important opportunity to analyze the impact of the tax policy changes on public income, and consequently, on expenditures. Three issues—tax collection, public expenditure, and the national debt—are explored in this article, all in the context of Mexico’s structural reforms and brightening yet somewhat volatile economic prospects.

Recognizing that the situation in Tamaulipas had reached crisis levels, in May, 2014, Mexico's top security officials met with their state level counterparts in Tamaulipas to unveil a new security strategy. This short report analyzes the new strategy, describes the challenging local context, and offers a few recommendations that could serve to strengthen the effort.

The most common adjective used to describe Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala and Belize is probably ‘porous.’ The large volume of Central American migrants, including many families and unaccompanied minors, crossing the border on their way north to the United States suggests as much. In response to these challenges, and also in an effort to facilitate the legal flow of commerce, tourism and guest workers, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto launched the Programa Frontera Sur (Southern Border Program) on July 7, 2014.

The Mexico Institute is pleased to partner with USAID Mexico, the Council of State Governments West, the U.S. Congressional Border Caucus, and the North American Research Partnership on the “U.S.- Mexico Regional Economic Competitiveness Forums 2014.” This initiative brings together key business, government and other stakeholders to discuss the future of the U.S.-Mexico border economy with particular emphasis on four crossborder regions.

On April 2, 2014, Christopher Wilson, Mexico Institute's Associate testified in front of the House Committee on Homeland Security, addressing the issue of U.S.-Mexico security in particular regarding to cartel violence and activity.

At a time when nearly all of the key issues facing North America are being understood and addressed either independently by the United States, Canada and Mexico, or within the dual-bilateral framework of U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada relations, this report attempts to view these challenges and opportunities through a trilateral lens.

Duncan Wood and Christopher Wilson submitted a paper to the U.S.-Mexico CEO Dialogue in December 2013, putting forth ideas of priority areas where business leaders can engage with policy makers to take the next major step forward in integration.

On December 9, 2013, Christopher Wilson testified in front of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs,Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, addressing the issue of U.S.-Mexico trade and border management. His testimony focused on the development of a multifaceted approach to border management that promotes security, trade and competitiveness, and a high quality of life for those living in the border region.

David Rusk, a former mayor of Albuquerque, joins us for a look at his book, “Cities without Suburbs.” Blair Ruble joins the discussion. Christopher Wilson discusses the newly released “The State of the Border Report."